Phil Sketchley Chief Executive of the National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) provided the Committee with information on work the organisation had carried out on antimicrobial resistance with regard to the use of veterinary medicines.
Members were informed that the European Commission is to review current legislation on veterinary medicines; he suggested that a range of antimicrobials should remain available for use in veterinary medicine and that these should be used responsibly. Additionally, the Committee was informed of work carried out by NOAH on consumer concerns. The Committee noted that although it has a peripheral interest in the subject, it was an important area and wished to be kept informed of developments.
Chris Gordon and Claire Williams from the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) provided the Committee with an interesting presentation on the work of BETA including key issues faced by the Association and its members. These included, claims, labelling and additives. ACAF Members provided advice on how BETA members could gain consistent advice on labelling issues via national forums eg the National Agricultural Panel.
A member of the Committee then gave a presentation in their expert field, explaining new plant breeding techniques and said that the legislative position for plants derived from this new technology is not entirely clear. Some of these new techniques might be adopted by industry because of the potential advantages they offered. The Committee was interested in the research and wished to be kept informed of developments.
Finally, the Committee was provided with an oral report on the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office audit of UK feed law enforcement that took place in January 2014. The audit covered risk management along the feed chain and dioxins monitoring. The findings of the FVO auditors are expected to be generally favourable.
